Red-Letter
by Xx-Synthetic-Cyanide-xX
Summary: A normal happy life was all that the crimson-eyed boy desired, yet it would always be out of reach. The twin demons of his mind would always be there to remind him that normality was never something he would possess. To him he was a freak, yet Green strived to take those baby steps with him together, and to help normalise their whirlwind relationship. Originalshipping!
1. Prologue

**Red-Letter**

**Authors' Note: Hello all! Okay, this is a brand new Originalshipping fic that I shall be writing alongside all my other work. I had some theories about why Red is the way he is, and this came to light. It shall be a very emotional story, so you have been warned :) enjoy the Epilogue, and lemme know what you guys think!**

* * *

**Prologue**

It wasn't as if Red's strange behaviour magically materialised overnight, and caused everyone he loved and cared about to worry over him. No, in fact these weird behaviour patterns had come to life during his childhood years, and had full taken flight by the time he had become a teenager. The crimson-eyed social recluse had not _always_ been this way, in fact when he was juvenile and naïve he acted pretty much how a normal child would behave.

Define normal, you say? Red, just like any other child had a best friend, who would have walked to the ends of the Earth and back just to get him his favourite chocolate bar, and a loving family who doted on him hand and foot. To most kids that lived in quaint Pallet Town that type of lifestyle was perfect. Well…_almost._

"I know, let's play hide and seek!" A boisterous, 7 year old, emerald-eyed boy, named Green yelled out to his best friend, who was sitting down on the grass, aimlessly destroying clumps with his fingers.

"Hide and seek?" The younger boy replied simply, gazing up at the figure of his childhood friend. Green nodded enthusiastically. Having a Grandfather who was a well renowned Professor and a back garden that was in comparison to a nature reserve had it benefits sometimes.

"Yeah! It will be fun, and besides…there are loads of places to hide here!"

"I…don't want to hide." Red mumbled shyly, dark hair gently falling across his face, hiding his expression from teasing emerald eyes.

"Don't be a wet blanket, Red! Trust me, it will be fun!" A small frown crept its way onto the younger boy's countenance, but without protesting further, he slowly got to his feet, taking time to ensure the grass did not stain his shorts.

"So…what do we do?" He asked nervously. Green placed his hands on his hips proudly, subconsciously puffing his chest out.

"Well, you go and hide somewhere in the back garden, I'll count to ten and then come and find you."

"You'll…find me?" A bright smile flashed upon the older boy's face.

"Duh! But, you have to promise to hide real good okay? I don't want it to be easy." Red shyly nodded, not fully understanding the whole game, but he knew he had to hide and not make it easy for Green. The issue was; Red had never played this game before. Was he supposed to hide, and wait until he was found?

"Okay then! I'll count to ten!" Green announced, turning his back to the younger boy, who just stared in confusion. As he covered his eyes with his hands and started counting, it sent Red into a state of panic. What if he got it wrong, and Green was mad at him? The last thing he wanted was to infuriate the hot headed boy even more, so without giving himself much time to think he darted off into the wilderness, attempting to find a good enough hiding spot.

Once the count of ten had ended emerald eyes blinked to get used to the harsh sunlight once more. He glanced around the back garden, noticing that Red had darted off somewhere to hide, and now it was up to his great detective skills to find him.

"Ready or not, here I come!"

**XXX**

The task of finding Red, which to most people should have been relatively simple, was in fact a bind. The game had been going on for hours, well into the evening when the sun was starting to set and the sky became overcast with dark, ominous clouds. The brunette youth had cried out Red's name repeatedly, asking him to come out, but to no avail.

What if something bad had happened to him out there? It seemed a logical reason, considering Red wasn't that stupid to stay hidden for hours on end. So, there was only one thing for it. Green was forced to tell his Grandfather and his older sister, Daisy about the issue. As expected, they were furious, mainly because they too, were just as worried.

Red was in their care, and if anything bad happened to him it would be their fault. Red's mother was over protective at the best of times, so if she found out about her reclusive son's disappearance she was sure to ground him forever, and then Red and Green would never see each other. That was why it was agreed that no one should mention this to his mother, unless Red could not be found by nightfall.

Professor Oak scanned the open fields, wondering if Red had perhaps been stuck in one of the large trees in the reserve, and couldn't get down. Daisy checked in all the Pokemon pens, double-checking all the bags of food, and the barrels of water for any sign of the elusive red-eyed boy. Nothing.

Green went further into the forest, which was situated at the back of the garden, a part that his Grandfather had always warned him about. The forest was unsafe and dangerous without your own Pokemon for protection, he knew that, but if Red was in the forest, he had to rescue him. It was his duty as his best friend.

"Red? Are you out there?" He called, cupping his hands around his mouth to make the sound echo as far as he could. How on Earth did Red manage this? It was a simple game of Hide and Seek, nothing too stressful, and yet it had resulted in hours of tireless searching.

Emerald eyes continued to scan his surroundings, only seeing masses of skinny winding trees, and overgrowing bushes on either side. Red was still nowhere to be seen, and deep inside he could feel his heart lurching with fear. What if he was badly hurt because of him? He could have been attacked by a wild Pokemon, or something.

"Red?! Answer me!" He shouted louder, receiving nothing but rapid flutters from Pidgey that were nesting in the trees, taking flight into the sky. The gloomy forest was deathly quiet, and it sent a cold shiver dancing down Green's spine. The further he walked into the forest, the darker his surroundings became.

The sky above him was now obscured by tree canopies, and the bushes either side were starting to become laced with brambles, tugging viciously at the fabric of his trousers. He winced as one particular branch snagged at his leg, cutting into the skin.

"Oww…" He cursed, pulling the fabric free, and watching as blood soaked through his trousers. Great…his sister would definitely fuss over him now. Nevertheless, the valiant youngster continued plodding through the wilderness, in a desperate attempt to find his precious best friend. He just had to be out here somewhere.

"Red?! Where are you?!" He yelled, once again disturbing some bird Pokemon from a nearby tree, hearing their cries of distress and urgent flapping of angry wings. Instinctively he flinched at the sound, and came to stop in a clearing. Green took a deep breath, feeling very sweaty and grubby from walking through the dingy dark forest, and looked around aimlessly. Still no sign of Red.

"Where the hell did you go…?" The emerald-eyed boy groaned to himself, feeling a wave of sadness wash over him. He felt so guilty right now. It was his fault that Red ran away to hide, and obviously took the game too literally, but surely he knew it was just a game? Red didn't honestly believe that he was supposed to hide from him forever, did he?

Then, the angry flapping noises continued, only closer this time. Green spun around on his heels, turning to look where the noise came from when his eyes widened in shock. A flock of furious Spearow were charging head first into him, cawing angrily into the sky, beaks, and claws ready to strike.

Fear completely consumed the emerald-eyed boy, leaving his body paralysed. He couldn't move, even if he wanted to. What was he supposed to do? Out run them? Fight them off? Both were useless ideas, he was stuck with nowhere to go.

The horrible screeching sounds of the angry bird Pokemon neared, and the noise of their flapping sounded like they were merely inches away from tearing his eyes out. Instinctively Green knelt down, covering his head with his arms, praying that they wouldn't hurt him too badly. He didn't mean to disturb them from their sleep; he was worried over his best friend, and needed to make sure he was safe.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" He yelled out desperately, feeling his whole body tremble with fear. He knew that Spearow weren't renowned for their mercy, so apologising was futile. He just had to try and bear it as much as he could, and hope that they would get bored of terrorising him and leave him alone.

"Poliwag! Water Gun!"

Suddenly the sounds from the Spearow changed, from vicious caws, to frightened screeches. Nervously Green raised his head, watching as one by one the bird Pokemon were hit by the water blast, and retreated to the safety of the trees. Green breathed a sigh of relief, genuinely thankful that the Spearow had called off their assault.

"Green…what are you doing here?" Just like that the young brunette turned to face the direction of that _oh so familiar_ voice. Green eyes melted into pools of crimson, which just blinked curiously.

"Red?" It was now he noticed that Red was not alone, and standing by his leg was a tadpole like Pokemon, which Green had seen photos of back at his Grandfather's laboratory. The Pokemon, which was called Poliwag, seemed rather jovial about the encounter, and about being around Red. Was it a wild Poliwag?

"Red…why are you out here in the forest? You know what Gramps said about this place!" Green stood up, brushing the grass from his trousers as he stared at his best friend, who seemed vacant. It was like he didn't understand what the issue was.

"You told me to hide…so I did."

"You were gone for HOURS!" Once again, Red's expression remained nonchalant, until he shrugged his shoulders briefly.

"I only did what you told me to do…" Not knowing what else to do the emerald-eyed boy wrapped his arms around Red, hugging him tightly, almost possessively.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again!" A small frown crept onto Red's countenance, as he tried to understand what the big deal was. Green was really freaked out by his actions, and obviously worried. None of it made sense.

"We better go back…Gramps and Daisy are worried sick…"

"Um…what about Poliwag?" Red replied softly, moving away from the hug to look down at the small blue tadpole, who looked eager to follow Red and not stick around here. Green shrugged half-heartedly, not really knowing what the correct answer should be.

"Well, do you want to keep him?" The crimson-eyed boy crinkled his nose in thought, before his expression returned to that of indifference.

"I…don't know."

"Well, Poliwag looks happy to be around you. Maybe you should consider it at least." Green was of course right. The water type was literally bouncing around happily at Red's feet, and obviously had some sort of connection with him already.

"Poliiii~!" He cried happily, causing a small smile to appear on Red's face. It was rare to see him smile nowadays. He always looked so confused with the world, trying desperately to understand all the mechanisms in his mind, figuring out why he couldn't understand things like everyone else. Why simple words and phrases just sent him into a daze, when Green didn't have this issue.

"Come on…" Green grabbed Red's hand, refusing to let go just in case he decided to wander off and 'hide' again for another three hours. "Let's go back."

"What about Poliwag?"

"Take him with you. It looks like he wants to, anyway." As Red knelt down to the water type he bounced happily into his arms, refusing to take no for an answer.

"Well, that settles it then. Looks like you got your first Pokemon early, Red. Congrats!" Green cheered, smiling as he squeezed his best friend's hand. Red nodded, still not understanding why Poliwag wanted to tag along so much. He was a wild Pokemon, and he lived in the lake that was deep in the forest. Why would he forget all that just to be with Red?

The two boys and Poliwag walked back through the forest, trying to avoid all the nasty brambles that attacked Green the first time. Their hands remained locked together, refusing to separate, which only intrigued the crimson-eyed recluse. Was it normal to hold hands with someone? He was unsure about so many things right now. The whole issue with the Hide and Seek game sent his brain into overdrive.

It seemed that even the simplest of things were seemingly too stressful for Red, even playing childish games with his best friend were becoming out of hand. Why had he taken things too literally, and caused too much unnecessary pain? These questions were the first of many to take place in his head, and as the years progressed, it caused more questions to swim around his mind.

This behaviour wasn't normal. Green didn't behave this way. He didn't act inappropriately, or get told off for saying things when he wasn't meant to. He didn't have a strict routine day in day out that he had to abide by; otherwise, his brain couldn't handle it. He didn't get confused by simple sayings and phrases and take things too literally. No, Green was normal. Red, however, was not.

Something was wrong, and it would take years for them to figure out the real reasons behind his behavioural patterns.


	2. Chapter 1

**Authors' Note: An update! What the hell is wrong with me?! xD I'm on a roll! Anyway, chapters will be short and sweet, but enjoy!**

**Chapter One**

When Red turned eight years old, it became apparent that his need for routine and stability was something of a must have. If the slightest thing was out of place, or if someone ruined his daily routine, he just couldn't deal with it and his brain would go into overload, resulting in hours locked away in his room.

His mother had assumed it was just part of growing up, but when she witnessed how Green behaved around others, she came to realise that her precious boy was very different. Different in today's society wasn't something to be proud of, in fact it led to bullying and torment.

Thankfully, Red had his ever reliable and rather hot-headed best friend to kick ass whenever the local kids used to make fun of him. So what, Red was unlike most kids his age, it didn't mean it was a bad thing. Okay, he needed routine in his life to be able to function properly. Wasn't that a normal part of life?

Green was always so patient with Red, and his weird routines. He knew that he could only see Red on certain days, and at certain times to avoid freaking the crimson-eyed boy out. Those days were Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Not that the emerald eyed youth minded, he got to spend time with Red, and not traumatise him in the process. It was a win-win.

Today was Saturday, a day where Red stayed at Green's place overnight. His grandfather, Professor Oak, was very willing to accommodate the socially awkward boy when his mother needed time to herself. Sometimes things became too stressful, and a little 'me' time was required.

This was the reason why Green loved Saturdays. He got to spend the whole day with his best friend.

It was Red's turn to choose a video game to play today, just like the routine went. First, Green would choose, and then it would be Red. The nervous youth stared at the stack of games that his best friend owned; feeling a little intimidated. He didn't want to choose wrong, and make Green angry.

"Go on Red! Any game is fine!" The brunette assured him, smiling wildly as he swung his legs back and forth on his bed. Crimson eyes flickered from the image of his friend, to the stack of terribly un-organised games. One by one, he began pulling them out, inspecting their covers thoroughly, before creating a neat pile beside him, all in alphabetical order.

"Come on Red! We haven't got all day!"

The raven nervously picked up the next game in the pile and looked at the cover. It was a multi-player driving game, and it looked like fun, so with that decided the smaller boy got up from the floor and plodded over to Green's bed.

"This one…" He murmured, handing over the white case.

"Mario Kart?" Green muttered, emerald eyes looking deeply into crimson ones. Red nodded meekly, before sitting beside his friend, still feeling unsure about his decision, which caused him to chew on his fingernails.

"You do realise I am unbeatable in this game~" The older boy tormented, sticking his tongue out playfully.

"Unbeatable?"

"Yeah! Ask Daisy! She hates playing this game with me. I always throw shells and banana skins at her."

Red's expression changed from neutral to confusion, and then to anxious. In his mind, the words Green said didn't make sense. Why would he throw banana skins at Daisy? Had she upset him, or did he not like bananas?

"Red?"

The raven-haired boy blinked rapidly before realising that Green was staring at him, as if he wanted an answer, but of course, his own thoughts had consumed him. Weakly he shrugged his shoulders, eyes falling to the floor.

"We can play it…"

"Hey…don't give me that look. I'll go easy on you!" The emerald-eyed boy jumped off the bed, and wandered over to the game console, case in hand. Red merely watched the figure of his childhood companion grab a second driver's wheel and put the game into the console.

Right now, Red's mind was nothing more than a jumbled mess of probing questions, and longing answers. He was unsure if Green was being serious about the shells and banana skins, and it scared him a little. Should he be prepared to get hurt if he played this game? Involuntarily the smaller boy flinched when Green sat back down beside him, holding out the driver's wheel.

"Are you alright?" He asked, watching as the crimson-eyed boy nodded weakly.

"Y-yeah…"

With nervous hands, he grabbed the wheel, unsure of what to do, or how to play the game. Green smiled brightly, revealing the small gap in his front teeth, before settling down to play the game. A look of concentration etched on his features, whilst Red seemed to be on another planet.

"Okay, you choose a character first, Red." Green beamed happily, sitting back and letting his best friend pick. This panicked him slightly. There were too many choices, and he was unsure if one of them was the wrong option. He needed to be told this.

"Um…what would…you suggest?" He mumbled weakly, trying to stop his nervous disposition get the better of him.

"Well, I'm usually Bowser, so…you could be any of the others. Maybe Yoshi?" Red frowned; feeling just as confused as he did before he asked for assistance, so he went for the obvious choice. The one who wore red clothing, Mario.

"Okay then and I'll be Bowser!" Green declared, picking his character and smirking in delight. The raven-haired boy bowed his head slightly as Green flicked through the variety of courses to race through. Who would have thought that playing a simple video game would cause so much hassle?

Red understood the concept to video games, and that they were supposed be fun and enjoyable. However, such a simple task was in comparison to climbing Mt Silver, with no supplies, and no equipment. He wanted to be able to be like Green, and enjoy the easy things in life. It just seemed impossible right now.

"Right, you ready?" Green asked, emerald eyes watching the smaller figure of his best friend, who meekly nodded in response. He had no idea how to play the game, or how to stop Green from attacking him with these 'banana skins'. Nevertheless Red decided that he wouldn't learn anything if he didn't at least give it a go, so with bated breath he waited for Green to start up the race.

His fingers started to feel clammy, as he watched the timer clock down before the words GO appeared, and the race had begun.

As expected Green, and the majority of computerised characters were already ahead of the younger boy, who simply tried to get used to the controls, and avoid trouble. He didn't realise that being at the back he was relatively safe from attacks, but his cocky best friend was not.

"Damn you Peach!" Green yelled, when his car became under attack by a blue shell. Red wasn't paying attention to Green's antics, and focused on his own. Slowly he was getting used to the controls, and how to use the items. The crimson-eyed boy obtained a golden star, and before he knew it, he was shining and going faster than most people go on the track.

"Dammit Red! How do you manage to do this?!" Green noted, still leading the rest of the group, but not by much. Yoshi, and Peach were right on his tail. Red was making slow, but steady progress. He concentrated on passing each one, before thinking about beating Green. Now, he wasn't last, he was starting to gain confidence.

"This isn't so bad…" He murmured avoiding a blue shell that someone had carelessly thrown his way.

"You learn fast." Green mused, still keeping the lead, like he had been for the majority of the race. Red just smiled, finally managing to enjoy himself for once. He was making progress, and now was sitting comfortably in fifth place, not too far behind.

"Take that!" The emerald-eyed boy yelled when he obtained the golden star, making his little character invincible to attacks. Even though Green was winning, and Red was a long way back, deep inside he felt happy that his best friend was beating other characters, even if they were all computerised.

Only two laps left to go, and Red had finally managed to pass Daisy, after so long. He used the banana tactic that Green had told him about, and smirked to himself when it actually worked. Now he was in fourth place, and catching up to Green. The brunette's fingers tightened around the controller in concentration as he swerved his car to avoid another blue shell. Thankfully, it missed.

"Hahaha! Stupid Yoshi!" Green called out defiantly, still keeping his lead, not paying attention to how close Red was.

"I can see you." The younger boy murmured stoically, casually avoiding the trail of banana skins that were left on the track.

"What?! What position are you?!" Red shrugged, maintaining his concentration. He could see three more characters, including Green ahead of him and they were coming close to the final lap. Deep in his mind, he already mapped out a plan: grab another gold star to get into third place, get some blue shells to attack Green and Yoshi further up ahead, and hopefully have enough speed to win the race. That was his strategy.

The final lap dawned on the boys, and straight away Red grabbed a blue shell, but decided on keeping it for now. Using it up would be a waste, especially this early on. He needed to get closer to the leaders.

Green was blissfully unaware of his tactic, and continued to use pure speed to gain the advantage. It was too obvious, and predictable. The crimson-eyed boy easily swiped a gold star, and just as planned he sped ahead into third place, not too far behind the leaders.

"Oh crap in a bucket!" Green cursed loudly, not pleased that Yoshi had stolen the lead from him by using a flying shell. For that split second Red lost concentration because of Green's outburst. He was concerned that his best friend was really infuriated, and it caused severe confusion within his brain.

"Are...you okay?" He asked, attempting to keep his car on the road, and not to swerve off. Green nodded, desperately chasing after the green dinosaur that was ahead of him. The crimson-eyed boy knew how infuriated his best friend was, so it was now time to use that blue shell he saved up.

"Green...?"

"What is it now?" The older boy said in annoyance, gritting his teeth. Calmly the raven haired boy drove up alongside his best friend's avatar, and just simply threw the blue shell. Emerald eyes widened when that sinister shell managed to smack straight into Yoshi, sending his car spinning in a daze. The temporary daze helped the boys, and both of them drove past the green dinosaur, going into first and second place.

It seemed Red's little plan had changed from what he originally went with, and he didn't like it at all. Now he was stuck, having no idea how to pass his best friend's car because he was out of items, and ideas. Green had managed to get back into the lead, which pleased him greatly.

"Thanks Red! Who said Mario Kart isn't about teamwork?"

The younger boy frowned with concentration, knowing that the finish line was vast approaching, and right now he was powerless to prevent Green from winning. Then, he had an idea.

Red directed his car right behind Green, speeding up as fast as he could. In his own mind he decided that if he couldn't win, then neither could Green. Soon enough his car was right behind his best friend's, almost shunting him in the back. Green noticed straight away, and became alarmed.

"Red? What are you playing at?!"

Within a matter of seconds Red forcefully smashed his car into Green, sending the both of them spinning off the race course, and losing the lead. Green became enraged, and in anger threw his controller down on the bed. Emerald eyes blazed at his friend, who didn't seem to notice anything was wrong.

"What is your problem?! Why did you do that?!" He yelled, receiving a vacant stare from the younger boy. He shrugged, disinterested, and carefully placed the controller down.

"...you wouldn't let me win."

"Red, the game doesn't work that way! It's a competition! You don't LET people win!"

Crimson eyes flickered away momentarily, trying to understand the concept. So, when he helped Green pass Yoshi, he was praised, but when he spun them both off the course it made Green angry?

"Arceus, you're so stupid!" Green's words hurt Red deeply. The raven-haired boy bowed his head in sadness, not wanting his best friend to shout at him anymore. He didn't think he did anything wrong.

"I'm...sorry..."

"Oh, just SHUT UP!"

Red closed his eyes, feeling a lump congeal in his throat, and tears threaten to fall from his eyes. How could Green be so horrible to him? He didn't mean to make him so angry. He just wanted them both to win, so they could share it.

The older boy stood up from the bed and turned the game console off, leaving the both of them to bathe in awkward silence. Red didn't say a word, just like Green had told him to. He was scared that if he spoke up it would make him even angrier.

Green sighed, picking up the controllers, and putting them away neatly. He never meant to shout at Red, its just he was so close to winning and then it was taken away from him. Maybe he shouldn't have told Red to shut up...it was mean of him after all.

He turned to face the younger boy, who still had his head bowed down so his face was hidden from view. He remained silent, almost terrified to speak up. A small frown crept onto Green's countenance. He never meant to get so angry...

"Red...i'm sorry..." He murmured softly. "I never meant to shout..."

Red said nothing and continued to sit still, and motionless. Deep inside Green felt guilty for upsetting his best friend like that, not realising that he took things to heart. Even if Green didn't mean what he said, Red would always think otherwise.

He sat beside the younger boy, his emerald eyes never leaving him for a second. Gently he placed his hand on his shoulder, feeling the raven-haired boy tense up.

"Red...don't be like this. I didn't mean what I said...I was just angry..."

Again, he received the silent treatment, and Green had no idea how to put this right. If he was ignoring him then what could he do? Did he have to give Red some time to get over it?

"Red...talk to me...please..."

Weakly the younger boy raised his head, so sparkling crimson eyes melted into shimmering emeralld ones. It was obvious Red was upset, and it just made the older boy feel even worse.

"Y-you...told me...to shut up..." He murmured quietly, still scared that Green would get angry with him for speaking, when he was told not to. Green blinked in shock, almost forgetting that when he said things like that Red took them literally. If you told him to jump off a cliff, the odds are he would do it because you told him to. That thought was terrifying.

Without thinking Green hugged his best friend tightly, wanting to make this sorry mess better again somehow. He never meant to get angry, or shout at Red...it just happened. Red closed his eyes, before nervously wrapping his arms around the older boy, pressing his forehead against his neck.

"I never meant it Red...I'm so sorry...!"

"It's okay..." The younger boy muttered, secretly enjoying the embrace. This meant all was forgiven, that Green wasn't mad anymore. He associated hugs and holding hands to happiness, when Green wanted to be around him and liked having him around. Shouting and raised voices were bad times, and he knew he had to keep quiet and hope things just blew over.

"You know...when I say horrible things...I don't mean it Red, I never mean it..."

This was something the raven-haired boy would never understand. Why tell someone to shut up, and then regret it five minutes later when they actually did it? It didn't make any sense to him. Why tell someone to go hide and not come out until they were found, and then get so wound up when they couldn't be found, and create so much un-needed angst and worry?

The world confused the poor boy, and the older and more wiser he became the more things he just didn't understand. Human interaction, and social behaviour would always be his downfall, and Green needed to learn how to handle his best friend soon, for his own sake, as well as Red's.


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Oh my Gosh! Another update? I deserve an award for this! Yeah well, don't get too used to this hehehe~ read and review folks, and enjoy~**

**Chapter two**

School is never easy for people, regardless of their mental state of mind. It's distressing, mind-numbing and boring as hell to the majority of children. Red, however, actually enjoyed going to school as part of his routine. He kept himself to himself and didn't socialise as much as the others would have liked, but it didn't bother him.

Green was the only friend he needed, and that suited him fine. Having new people interrupt his perfectly content life was something that raven-haired boy couldn't handle very well, and everyone who knew him was aware of that fact. However, it seemed Red's mental state of mind had become something of a bad habit as of lately.

At the end of the school year they decided to change the uniform, which required all student's parents to unfortunately buy a brand new uniform for the up and coming school year. Red couldn't seem to understand this change, and why it was necessary; what was wrong with the old uniform? It worked fine, so why did they feel the urge to change the colours? No matter how many times people told him the reasons why, he just didn't understand.

"Red, it's nothing personal, okay? They are just changing the uniform that's all..." Green informed him one day, when they were relaxing over at his house. The crimson-eyed boy sighed, puffing his juvenile cheeks a little.

"...what's wrong with the old one...?"

"Nothing is _wrong_ with it, they just...want to brighten things up a little, and try something new."

Red frowned, still struggling to understand the reasoning behind it. If nothing was wrong with it, he saw no reason to change it. However, he had no choice in the matter; he would have to wear the new uniform by the start of the new term, whether he liked it or not.

"I don't understand..." He whined softly, gently resting his head against his best friend's arm, as they relaxed on his sofa. "...I like my uniform..."

"Red...I like the uniform too, but we don't have a choice in the matter."

"Why not?"

Large innocent crimson eyes stared up at Green, desperately wanting answers, because right now his brain felt like pea soup, unable to piece anything together, and when he did it became a horrible sopping mess.

"It's the school's decision...we just have to go along with it."

A small sigh escaped Red's lips, as he rested his head firmly against Green's arm once again, feeling a little saddened about the whole idea. Why did they purposely have to complicate things?

He closed his eyes tightly, feeling his throat become dry, and his chest heave painfully. Nothing was making sense, and it terrified him. Weakly, his small fingers gripped onto the sleeve of Green's top, which alerted the older boy.

"Hey...what's wrong?" He consoled, moving so he was wrapping his arm around the frame of his best friend, who by this point was a trembling wreck. The younger boy couldn't speak. It felt almost impossible to tell anyone the reasons to why he was behaving this way; not even he knew why he suddenly became overwhelmed with such intense sorrow.

"Don't get upset Red...it's not that bad, honest." Green tried again, desperately wanting to make this right somehow. He hated seeing Red sad, or worse cry. If Red cried it felt like he had failed in his duty of being best friend. The duty involved making Red happy, however he could, so he would try anything to do that.

After a while of just sitting in comfortable silence, with Green every so often rubbing his hand along Red's arm, the younger boy had managed to calm down to a reasonable level. There was no longer any prominent danger of a panic attack, or worse, and that was a relief to the emerald-eyed boy.

"Feel better?" He eventually asked, noticing that Red nodded, but still refused to move, and was still gripping onto his t-shirt tightly.

Knowing Green was here with him, and wouldn't leave him because he was a freak, or because he obviously had something seriously wrong in his brain gave him some much needed comfort. The last thing he wanted was Green to turn his back on him, because after all, Green was the only person who knew how to handle him.

**XXX**

The beginning of the school year was not something anyone would forget in a hurry, and it wasn't due to mindless school antics, or playing a practical joke on an unsuspecting supply teacher. Oh no, it was _much _worse than that. It seemed Red's defiance of the school uniform had continued up until now, and it was gaining a lot of unwanted attention.

The shy raven-haired boy clutched his school bag tightly, almost frightened to let go as he wondered down the corridor to his next lesson about Pokemon status moves. This was the one class where him and Green didn't share, so he would ultimately be on his own, which in his current condition wasn't the best option.

Without a moments warning he received a forceful shove, knocking the bag out of hands and onto the floor, spilling the contents out for all to see. Malicious whispers, and devilish snickers echoed around him, as he nervously bent down, attempting to retrieve his text books.

"Do you think you're a girl or somethin'?" Someone called out, not too far away; a masculine voice.

"Yeah! Or do you just enjoy wearing skirts?" Another teased, as more laughter erupted into the air.

The crimson-eyed boy tensed at the torment, not understanding why they were doing this. Red didn't like the boys uniform, and so when he went shopping he bought the girl's uniform. Of course, in his own mind he saw nothing wrong with walking around wearing a black skirt and a blouse.

Girls wore them, so why couldn't he?

As he managed to grab his books and shove them back into his bag, he saw out of the corner of his eye a shadow; then two, until there was a gang congregated around his hunched form. His heart was rattling in his chest, as he refused to make eye contact with any of them.

"I bet he wears girl's panties too!" Another voice joined in, and it caused the raven-haired boy to flinch involuntarily. None of this was making sense to him.

Why were they so concerned over the uniform? No one else had said anything...so why were they?

Slowly, and cautiously he got to his feet, frightened in case the crowd of boys tried to do anything else to him. With his head bowed down, and his eyes glued to the floor; all he could hear was their hurtful laughter, and mocking jeers.

"Look! He even _acts _like a girl!"

Once again, he was pushed forcefully, knocking the younger boy against the wall. He flinched, still refusing to speak, because right now he was terrified. He could feel his legs shaking, and was doing his best to hide that apparent fear from the bullies.

"Prissy pants~" One of them teased, and that was it. It started a chain reaction of them all chanting _'prissy pants'_ over and over, until tears were welling in Red's eyes, and he just wanted to go home.

His heart was hurting, and his brain was struggling to understand the whole situation. He didn't know what the words meant, or why they were laughing at him, and the confusion made him more upset.

"HEY!"

A loud brash voice entered the fray, which Red instantly recognised, and lifted his head. He saw Green standing not too far away, and the scowl on his face proved that he was royally pissed off right now.

The crowd surrounding the raven-haired boy became a semi-circle as Green stepped forwards defiantly, not too thrilled about people bullying his best friend.

"Leave him alone!" One of the boys sneered, not affected by Green's words.

"Aww...have you come to rescue your girlfriend?" He teased, causing a few snickers from the others. Green's eyebrows furrowed together, as his eyes hardened with anger. No-one spoke about Red like that!

"If you wanna survive I'd shut your mouth, if I were you." He warned, glaring hatefully.

Then one of the others seemed to notice just who Green was; after all, having a grandfather who is famous Professor does have some brownie points. There were a few whispers scattered about, and then realisation struck.

Red continued to shy away, being as diminutive as possible to not cause any problems. He didn't like fighting, and he didn't want Green becoming a part of that. After a long time of just glaring at one another, the crowd of bullies seemed to give up the ghost, and walked down the corridor, muttering amongst themselves.

Green sighed, and then his emerald eyes focused on Red, and his attire. No wonder people were saying things; he _DID _look like a girl. Even so, bullying was never the answer, just because someone was different to the rest.

"Are you okay?" He asked the younger boy, who nodded meekly, actually feeling much better since his intervention.

"Y-yeah...thanks..."

"For Arceus's sake Red...you can't go around wearing the girl's uniform!"

Large crimson eyes stared innocently at him, not understanding what the problem was.

"...why not?" Placing a hand to his head the taller boy thought it would be beneficial to not have this conversation in the middle of the corridor where anyone could see. The lockers would be more ideal.

"Come on...lets talk somewhere more private..."

When they reached the boy's locker room, thankfully everyone was in class so it was devoid of any nosey students, who could potentially overhear said conversation. Red had sat down, putting his bag on his lap, staring at Green; who still seemed shocked about the uniform.

"Red...why did you decide to wear the girl's uniform?" He asked calmly, deciding to start from the beginning. The younger boy shrugged a little.

"...I didn't like the boy's uniform..."

"So, you decided to wear a skirt instead?" Red nodded, which earned a sigh from the brunette in response.

"Red...I know you think it's fine to do this but, you can't wear a skirt at school. Not everyone thinks the way you do...people don't take kindly to things that they don't understand..."

Once again, the raven-haired boy failed to understand what the issue was. So, because he was a boy meant that he _had _to wear the boy's uniform? Wasn't this against human rights?

"...it looks better on me..."

Even though Green couldn't deny that it did suit him, it was still only going to lead to further issues at school, issues that Green wasn't prepared to tolerate. With a heavy sigh, the brunette ran his fingers through his hair.

"Well...there's no choice...you will have to take it off..." He mused aloud, as Red watched him. Slowly the younger boy moved his bag so it was resting beside him, as he stood up. For an odd reason he appeared bashful, and Green couldn't understand why; but then again Red wasn't the easiest person to figure out at the best of times.

"You can't go around wearing this, Red..."

The raven-haired boy nodded shyly, and then, to Green's surprise, started to pull down the skirt, taking it off. A wave of panic rushed over the brunette, and without thinking he grabbed Red's arms, stopping him.

"N-not here...!" The crimson-eyed boy blinked innocently, wondering why Green stopped him, when he told him to take it off in the first place.

"Why...?"

Green couldn't believe how naïve Red was behaving; did he really see no error to this situation? He couldn't go around stripping in the boy's locker room. People would start talking, and that was something the brunette didn't want any part of.

"Just...wait till we get home, okay?"

The raven-haired boy nodded, and pulled the skirt back up. A fierce blush exploded on his cheeks as he realised he had made the atmosphere awkward between them. He never meant to act in this way, most of the time he had little control over how his brain functioned, regardless of whether it was deemed as appropriate or not.

With that said Red picked up his school bag and slung it over his shoulder, feeling nervous. He never meant to make Green angry with him, he just didn't like the boy's uniform.

Why was he being punished for that? Just because most people didn't see it as the normal thing to do didn't make it wrong, right?

The two boys walked down the corridor in silence, Green deciding that it would be beneficial to get Red home now, rather than later. After all; round two with the bullies didn't seem too appealing.

**XXX**

Once Green had got Red safely back home, and tried countless times to explain to his mother about her son's behaviour, the two retired to the raven-haired boy's bedroom. To put it lightly, his mother was tired, and unsure of how to handle Red anymore. It seemed his mental state of mind was continuing to diminish the older he became.

There had been many times she had considered calling a Doctor, to find out just what the underlying problem was; but she knew it would only alarm Red, and that in itself had deadly consequences. If anything destroyed her son's routine it would bring on a panic attack, or worse; and that was something she couldn't risk.

Thankfully, having Green by his side seemed to have a calming influence on the crimson-eyed boy. He felt safe with his best friend; knowing that no matter what, Green was always there for him, and would never hurt him, or let him down. That constant entity in his life was what kept Red going.

"Now, promise me that tomorrow you'll wear the boy's uniform." Green scolded his best friend, who nodded meekly, feeling as if he were five years old, being ordered to sit on the naughty step.

"I-I will...sorry..."

"Why are you apologising?" He shrugged weakly, setting his bag down on the floor, not able to meet his friend's gaze.

"I made you mad..."

"Red, I'm not mad...I'm concerned! I don't want anyone hurting you, or saying horrible things to you just because you're different." The brunette sat down on Red's bed, watching as the smaller boy sat beside him; his body language appearing tense.

"So...it's bad that I wear the girl's uniform?" Red asked quietly. Green had no idea how he was supposed to explain the social normality to someone who freaked out if his eggs weren't cooked in a certain way, or his sock draw wasn't arranged in the way he wanted it to be. How could he even begin to explain any of it?

"Well, it's not _bad _ as such..." He tried, thinking the words through carefully, so that Red understood everything. "...just, not everyone thinks the way I do."

"So...people get mad when I wear this?" Green nodded, thankful that he seemed to understand parts of it.

"I guess you could say that. To them they think only girls should wear it, and get angry when people don't do that." The raven-haired boy frowned, hating all these normalities in society. He saw no problem with wearing a skirt, especially if he looked better in it than some of the girls.

"That's being mean to girls...what if they wanted to wear trousers? Would they get bullied too?"

The brunette sighed, hating how reasonable Red could be when he understood something, or was at least trying to. He wasn't stupid, it was just normal everyday things were much harder to deal with.

"Red...all I'm saying is, don't wear it tomorrow, okay?" Their eyes met, before Red slowly nodded. If Green told him not to wear it, then it was for a good reason. He trusted his friend with his life, and so decided to go with his better judgement.

"Okay..."

"Don't worry, tomorrow I'm walking you to school. Those bullies don't stand a chance!"

A small smile crept onto the younger boy's face, as he leaned against Green's shoulder. He closed his eyes, eternally grateful for Green's intervention earlier.

There were still so many things Red didn't understand about the world, and even though Green did his best to explain everything; sometimes it wasn't enough.

It would take a lot of time and dedication to eventually figure out the reasons for his behaviour; and it might not be something that anyone wanted to hear.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

_No-one knew that it would take a single spark to detonate the time bomb…._

Christmas Time was the only time of year where anyone managed to see a flicker of pure animation light up Red's crimson eyes. Ever since his mother had told him the enchanting fairy-tale of a man called Santa Claus, and how he miraculously managed to swiftly deliver presents all over the region to good boys and girls, it captivated him.

However, there were some things he was told that confused him; for example: Santa was supposed to enter a person's home through their chimney, but Red ingeniously pointed out that their chimney wasn't able to do that. Therefore, he was told an altered version; where the large bulbous man had a very extraordinary key, enabling him to open anyone's front door whilst they were sleeping.

Once again, it was easy to make the innocent boy believe the hysteria, and the significance behind the holiday. He never once conjectured that Santa was nothing more than a mere fabrication, created to make the holiday magical. This beautiful fascination continued for years; that was until a certain green-eyed boy had to ruin it.

_Little did he know that this was the straw that broke the Stantler's back._

"You seriously believe in all that?" Green mused, before a snicker erupted from his throat. A small frown crept onto Red's countenance, as he sat on his best friend's bed, given an oration about his naivety, and innocence.

"…my Mom wouldn't lie to me…" Came the soft and almost submissive reply, as his raven hair shielded his face from view.

"Red…come on, I know you're simple minded, but honestly; you don't believe in that crap, do you?" The tone in the Green's voice significantly distressed the youngster, causing his hands to clench defensively into fists at his side; terrified that the beautiful world he believed in, was nothing but propaganda.

"D-don't…say that…"

His voice was precarious, almost to the point of breaking. Christmas Eve was two days away, and this year he had the opportunity to spend Christmas Day with Green, instead of having a monotonous wait till Boxing Day. This was predominantly due to Professor Oak receiving an urgent phone call from an acquaintance in Johto, about Pokemon evolution; and not wanting to miss the hype, decided to travel there for a few days.

Of course, Green didn't particularly mind this little upset to the routine. If it allowed him to spend as much time with the raven-haired boy, then that was nothing more than a wish come true. His Grandfather would be leaving on Christmas Eve, and would return approximately 4pm on Boxing Day, so it gave them a few days together.

However, with this little revelation about Santa Claus up in the air, Red certainly wasn't overly keen on the idea any more. Right now, his brain couldn't focus on anything, and his heart was agonizingly thrashing in his chest. Confusion was tearing him apart, and Green was too oblivious to see the apparent hurt in his best friend's eyes.

"Red…I'm not saying this to hurt you, but, it's wrong that people lie to you. They know you can't handle big reveals, or even smaller things that don't matter, yet they continue to hurt you. I won't lie to you, Red. I never have."

His breaths were shallow, almost excruciating, as he squeezed his eyes shut; struggling to block out the relentless uproar that was Green's voice. He didn't want Green to ruin what had been a beautiful thing to believe in; the idea that there was someone out there who was compassionate, liberal, and spread love throughout the world. Now, it was slowly being destroyed.

The raven-haired boy had become taciturn, refusing to say a single word, and just continued to block it all out. Green was saying that his mother was a liar, and that she was doing this to purposely hurt him. Why would anyone feel the apparent need to abuse someone's mind to this level, without it having any consequences?

"Red…talk to me, please? I didn't mean to upset you…"

Once again the older of the two was met with a solid wall of obstinate silence, and the longer they remained in this way, the more it was oppressing them.

"Do you want me to go?" He tried again, gazing expectantly at the diminutive form of his best friend, who merely shrugged nonchalantly in response.

Right now, he was far too distressed to care about something so inconsequential. How could he stop his mind from being torn apart from the seams, now it was too damaged and delicate to be fixed?

Green became apprehensive, the longer Red chose to ignore him. No matter how many arguments or divergences they had in the past, Red had never willingly chosen to shut himself off, mainly because he didn't have the capacity to hold such resentment against anyone. Now, things looked bad.

"Red…" Gently he rested his hand on Red's shoulder, feeling the younger boy tense up almost immediately. "…don't be like this, please."

Suddenly breathing became a much more arduous task than it seemed previously, and before he was consciously aware of it, the raven-haired boy was gasping urgently, using his gaunt fingers to clutch his t-shirt, over where his heart lay neatly concealed within.

This sudden change in demeanour alarmed the brunette, who instantly gripped his friend's arms tightly, subconsciously begging him to open his eyes, and just look at him; that was if talking was something he was unable to comprehend.

"Red…?! Red…deep breaths…okay? Breathe with me."

The younger of the two was by this point trembling like a leaf in a headstrong wind, no matter what Green did to help the situation. Weakly he tried to do as instructed, inhaling a short gasp of air, and exhaling. The brunette timed his breaths with his best friend, doing his best to reassure him somehow. However, even though Red was breathing in time with him, the colour was vastly vanishing from his rosy cheeks, leaving his skin lifeless and transparent.

"Red…! Red, look at me!" The brunette tried desperately, gently moving his hands to tap against Red's face, watching as his crimson eyes weakly squinted open, almost painfully.

There was no concentration behind his stare, no life beyond those once beautiful sparkling pools of crimson. It was as if the light was quite obviously on, but there was no one at home.

Panic rushed through Green, feeling utterly helpless. One minute Red was fine and the next it was as if his mind had imploded on itself, and was now unable to process anything. Was it simply because of the whole conversation about Santa? Had that been the final push to completely break him…?

"R-Red…you're scaring me…"

He did nothing more than gently cup Red's fragile face, loathing the fact that the colour continued to fade away, leaving a deathless afterglow in its wake. His eyes became shrouded by malignant black circles, which almost seemed to drain any life from his body.

A pained sob crept its way up the brunette's throat, until he was struggling to hold back the tears. Seeing Red so inanimate and lifeless was slowly killing him, torturing his insides to a degree where they would be nothing more than brittle glass; easily crushable, easily destroyable.

"P-please….Red…talk to me…!" He cried, wrapping his arms tightly around his best friend, desperately seeking some kind of response, whether it be positive or negative.

He hated this; Red was never supposed to be like this, a puppet whose strings had been severed. Okay, the real world scared him to death, but Red was a fighter. He would never willingly give up the fight.

The brunette decided against saying anything further, and just simply held his best friend in his arms, subconsciously seeking out the delicate tremors of his heartbeat in the emptiness around them.

**XXX**

"_I'm sorry…it's bad news"_

"_Your son….he suffers from a form of autism; it's called Asperger's Syndrome"_

Emerald eyes remained transfixed on an old withered clock that hung lazily on the wall, apparently depicting the time of 6pm. His foot nervously tapped against the whitewashed tiles, hands gripped together, absent-mindedly chewing the inside of his mouths to ribbons. Red had been in room 1-B for well over half an hour, and he was more than anxious.

It had been forty minutes prior that they had all discovered the reasons to Red's apparent behavioural disorder. He had Autism; Asperger's Syndrome, and there was no cure for it. It was just something he would have to control, and deal with, as he got older. Right now the Doctor was talking them through about the variety of methods to help deal with the anxiety, and especially panic attacks.

That had been the sole reason for the visit; Red had suffered a terrible panic attack, which eventually caused his body to shut down. Thankfully, it wasn't anything too serious, and could easily be dealt with for future reference. However, that didn't ease the brunette's mind.

He should've known Red was really sick, and that it wasn't just a phase, or just part of his persona. Mental health wasn't something to make jokes about, but it seemed the more Green dwelled on the pressing issue, the more he realised that subconsciously he had been make fun of Red his entire life.

The incessant foot tapping or mouth biting did little to calm his nerves, so now he resulted in biting his nails, not caring if he hurt himself in the process.

In a few days' time, it would be Christmas Day; a day he could spend with Red. Where he didn't have to worry about being bored, or becoming a recluse whilst his Grandfather potted about with his research; this time he could actually spend it with his best friend.

This should be a happy time to consider, but due to the fact, Green consistently blamed himself for Red's illness, right now he was dreading it.

The creaking sound of the door opening reverberated throughout the silent waiting room. Immediately, Green shot out of his seat, as if someone had just set it alight. Emerald eyes burned into the shy and retiring figure of his best friend, who was sheltering underneath his mother's protective arm.

"You really worried me Red!" She scolded lightly, hugging her son in relief.

At least the colour had finally returned to his cheeks, and his eyes were finally devoid of that sickening malignant afterglow. He flashed a nervous smile at the brunette, who couldn't contain his enthusiasm any longer.

He lunged at the raven-haired boy, a feeling of sheer relief washing over him. Before either of them were aware of it, they were crushed into each other's arms, refusing to let go. Red's scrawny fingers gripped onto Green's t-shirt tightly, almost frightened to loosen their grip in case Green faded away, and never returned.

"Are you…better now?" Came the innocent and naïve reply.

The raven-haired boy shrugged weakly; still unsure about the whole scenario. The only thing he was aware of right now was that his head didn't hurt so bad, and he had this insatiable craving for French fries.

"I want a burger…" He mumbled, eyes slowly closing as he enjoyed the warmth Green provided.

"After all the trouble you caused? Do you think you deserve a burger, mister?" His mother scolded, which caused the younger boy to cling desperately to his friend.

Not that Green minded, in fact secretly he enjoyed having this attention. He felt needed, and he knew that deep inside Red's confused, and mixed up world there was a beautiful place for him, and there always would be.

**XXX**

"_Mom…am I cursed? Is it a disease?"_

"_Can other people become sick like me?"_

"_Is my brain dying…?"_

So many unanswered questions swirled around the youngster's mind as he munched carelessly on his fries. He had Green to thank for this, if it wasn't for his intervention, claiming it was his fault that lead to the panic attack then this scenario would never have existed. Due to that, Red shared half of his cheeseburger with the brunette, and decided against having two straws in their glass of cola.

Considering Christmas was only a few days away Red's mother relented, and claimed that this was nothing more than an early Christmas present, and she was still furious with him. Not that the raven-haired boy minded, he was just grateful to satiate his craving for the best French fries in town.

Green felt marginally better, noticing that Red didn't seem so lifeless anymore, and his cheeks were once again a soft rosy pink. A shudder raced down his spine. That image of Red; deathly pale, inanimate, and motionless would forever burn into his retinas for all eternity. The younger of the two noticed Green's apparent distress, and without thinking rested his hand on top of Green's.

"…you okay?"

The question was short, and sweet, yet Green found it surprisingly difficult to answer. Perhaps it was because he wasn't _okay_, and yet if he confessed that vital part of information it would only concern the crimson-eyed boy, which he didn't want. Alternatively, he promised he would never lie to Red, and this was why the war inside his mind forever raged on.

"It's…nothing to worry over, okay?"

Red nodded, and gently squeezed his best friend's hand, earning a small smile in response.

_~Sometimes the words that remained unsaid were the words that spoke the loudest~_

**XXX**

"What's that?" The raven-haired boy pointed at an oddly shaped green branch, which was decorated with snow covered holly berries; and was situated just above the doorway.

Green shrugged, as his curious emerald eyes gazed up at the Christmas decoration. They decided not to question his mother's taste in decorations, and just left her to it. She had a fascination for snow globes, and Stantler Christmas Lights; which changed colour depending on the setting.

However, the main guest of honour was the holly branch, that had captivated both of the boys, who seemed unsure to why it was placed above the door, and not on the Christmas Tree. The brunette's brow furrowed in thought, until suddenly he vaguely remembered what it symbolised.

"Oh yeah! I remember! Apparently if you stand under it with some-one you like you give them a kiss."

"…why?" Came the simple reply, to which Green shrugged, indifferent.

"I dunno. Some stupid adult thing I guess." Regardless of the meaning behind it, Red couldn't seem to break eye contact with the branch, and its snow covered berries. It was strangely beautiful, and captivating.

"So…if you stand under it, you have to kiss someone you like?"

"That's what they say, yeah."

The shorter boy turned to face his best friend, whose expression remained neutral. Red was unsure if the object was cursed, and if they did not obey its rules then something bad might occur. Either way, it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Green…?"

"What?" Nervously crimson eyes trailed down to the carpet, as his foot gently scuffed against the other. His hands clasped together, and met at the base of his spine, as ever so slowly their gaze met once more.

"I like you…so do we have to kiss under this?" The question came as a shock, and before the brunette could even attempt to stop his body from betraying him, a fierce blush ignited his cheeks, and he was forced to look away.

"….w-why is everything so…naïve to you…?" Crimson eyes blinked, unsure of what he meant, but he remained standing in the same position, wondering if his words had irritated the brunette somewhat.

"Is it…bad?"

Feeling flustered all of a sudden Green had no idea where to put himself. Kissing in general was gross, in his eyes, girls had _cooties_, but Red didn't. Red was his best friend, and he would change the fabric of time and space to ensure that their friendship remained intact, and never drifted apart.

"N-no…just…don't you think it's weird?" The raven-haired boy shrugged, and merely smiled.

"How is it weird? I like you, and you kiss people you like under it. It seems simple."

At that moment in time, Green desperately wanted to smack his hand on his face, and drag it precariously over all of his features. Just for once, he would love to experience what magical things occurred in Red's brain. Obviously, it was a much better reality than the one he was accustomed. Either way, what harm could an innocent kiss do?

"Okay…fine."

Swiftly he grabbed the crimson-eyed boy's arm, and pulled him underneath the mistletoe, feeling that horrendous blush return with a vengeance. He was forever grateful that Red was dense, and wouldn't see any issue with this, because the last thing he desired was for their relationship to become awkward.

They stayed motionless for a while, neither of them saying, or doing anything, and this only increased Green's nervousness. He could feel the palms of his hands start to clam up with sweat, and his heart was beating ever so slightly faster than its normal mundane rhythm.

"Could you…um…cl-close your eyes…?" The brunette stammered, and watched as Red did as he was instructed, shutting his eyes off from the world, and willingly waited for whatever was supposed to happen.

Green never expected to feel this nervous over anything; especially something so trivial. Yet, as he stared at Red's innocent face, and ever-so-slightly puckered lips, his heart started thrashing angrily inside his chest.

Apprehensively he moved closer, unsure about how to do this. He had never kissed anyone, or even considered it up until this moment. Was it okay to kiss your best friend? Tentatively he inched closer, squeezing his eyes shut, and praying that Red wouldn't suddenly freak out, and hate him forever.

_This is okay….this is okay…~_

Before he was aware of it his lips had found their way to Red's, who inhaled shakily at the contact. They were soft, so different to anything he had experienced before, and he was unsure how long a kiss was supposed to last for before things got awkward.

Slowly Green pulled away, noticing that his heart had in fact increased in pace, and had not slowed down at all. Weakly, his eyes fluttered open, realising Red was staring right at him. The raven-haired boy smiled shyly, gently biting on his bottom lip.

"That was…nice" He muttered, before Green scratched the back of his head in a boyish manner.

"Well…I…um…thanks…" Nothing more was said on the matter, yet Red's mind continued to swirl with so many thoughts.

'_It's okay to kiss your best friend….it's okay to cuddle and hold hands with your best friend….this is…normal behaviour..~'_

**XXX**


End file.
